Therapy Services for 80 Cambodian Families

Thank you so much for your support of the ABLE Project. Here is what has been happening lately.

Goodbyes

Since our last report we have had to say goodbye to two valuable teammates. Courtney, an occupational therapist from the U.S. who has helped to support us over the last three years, has returned to the States, and Bridget, who has spent a good part of the last year with us humbly sharing her wisdom in the field of educational psychology, has returned to New Zealand. We're so thankful to have had the benefit of their expertise informing the way we care for and empower children with disabilities and their families in the ABLE Project. 

Skill Building

While Bridget and Courtney were with us they also helped to share their expertise with partner organizations. The ABLE Project was able to arrange a learning exchange with OIC, an organization dedicated to developing the speech therapy profession here in Cambodia. In exchange for training that Bridget provided to their staff on behavior strategies and working with Autism, our staff received training last month on helping children develop communication skills. The training was provided by one of their licensed expat speech therapists and a Cambodian assistant and offered a good framework for our staff in understanding the components of language, how to know where a child is having trouble, and how to help. Also in January, our Project Manager, Srey Ny, provided training to eight families in Kandal, one of our provincial locations, about protecting the rights of children with disabilities.

Welcome Vanda

While we miss having Courtney and Bridget with us, we are delighted to have welcomed aboard a new staff member. Vanda, our newest Community Rehabilitation Team member, just joined our team this month. So, over the last few weeks, our Project Manager, staff Physiotherapist, and Physical Therapy Technical Adviser have all been spending significant time training her and having her accompany them on client visits. The role of the Community Rehabilitation Team member is really important as it allows children and families to receive much more frequent and consistent support. There are very few university trained physiotherapists relative to the population of Cambodia. The ABLE Project is currently serving 66 children in five provinces in addition to Phnom Penh, which requires our two Cambodian physiotherapists to do a lot of traveling. The amount of time available for them to visit cases directly would not be adequate if our Community Rehabilitation Team members were not available in the local communities to provide follow up in between visits from the physiotherapists. In the places where many of the children in the ABLE Project live there are few or no other rehabilitation services available. Having our physiotherapists travel to the local communities and having support staff living and working in these communities provides access to services that many children would not have otherwise. Vanda will be the only ABLE staff member living in Kampong Chhnang (Children In Families does have two social work staff members there) so it is essential for her to be well grounded and confident. So far, she has proved to be a quick learner and able to develop good rapport with the children and their families, both of which are essential.

So, thank you again for your support of the work of the ABLE Project. Your giving helps give children the opportunity to experience and achieve their potential within their communities. 

Links:

• Read more about the ABLE Project here